Homecoming weekend in East Lansing is always a fun and festive celebration for Spartans from far and wide.

And Tom Izzo is going to, once again, contribute to the magic of returning home to the banks of the Red Cedar River.

Michigan State has announced that the annual Midnight Madness will take place on the night of Friday, October 5th – the night prior to Michigan State’s homecoming football game against Northwestern at Spartan Stadium.

Let’s forget, for right now, that the game against Northwestern has the potential to be a massive football game for the 2018 Spartans.

For right now, let’s thank Izzo and the Michigan State athletic department for giving Spartans yet another reason to celebrate being a Spartan.

The Breslin Center doors will open at 8:30p.

Izzo, his staff, and the players themselves will all be available for photos and autographs in the concourse of the Breslin Center for an hour before the official program for the night tips off at 9:30p.

The women’s and men’s teams will be introduced to the crowd followed by scrimmages and performances by the Spartan Marching Band, cheerleaders, and dance teams.

While none of this has been confirmed, I have it on decent information that Izzo is considering the following costumes and/or demonstrations at the beginning of, during, and after the Midnight Madness event:

Dressing up as George Washington and re-enacting Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River.

Dressing up as Apollo Creed dressed up as George Washington and re-enacting Creed’s entrance into The Spectrum for the first title bout between Creed and Balboa.

Entering the Breslin Center propelling on a 20-foot tall unicycle while juggling pumpkins (large ones) and while dressed as Sonny Corleone in tribute to the several semesters James Caan spent as a student at Michigan State.

Cartwheeling onto the court dressed up as Sid Vicious while the PA system blares “Anarchy In The U.K.” but the Breslin Center message boards reveal new lyrics that replace “U.K.” with “U.P.” and lyrics celebrating the work ethic of Yoopers.

Waddling out on to the Breslin Center court doing a full-on impression of Charlie Chaplin featuring some kooky mannerisms, a walking cane, the familiar Chaplin mustache, and an announcement that in a nod to Chaplin’s era of silent motion pictures, he’s not going to talk at all with the press before or after games in the coming season.

Preceded by the floor-level entrance of all living members of the Flying Wallendas, he will walk across a tightrope that will extend from one end of the rafters to the opposite end of the rafters while tossing laminated and autographed photos of Parish Hickman to the fans below.

Walking out onto the court in a Michigan State coaches sweatsuit, grabbing a microphone, and saying to the crowd, “We’re gonna get it done this year, folks. Cheer your butts off and we’ll work out butts off. Let’s have a great season and let’s make sure it ends differently than last season.”